I am more concerned than most.....I think we will make the playoffs, and even think we have a chance at home court....but there are 3 teams that did not make the playoffs last season, that should be in contention this year. First, there is us.....the addition of Lebron speaks for itself. Next, if healthy, Memphis is clearly a playoff contender while Denver has been there for a couple years. As of right now, I would project...

Imo Lakers will be 3-6 seed depending on chemistry in first half. No matter the seed, I suspect they will add by deadline and no matter the seeding, they will be a strong team that no one outside of GSW will want to draw in a playoff series.

How is Roberson recovering? I heard his injury is a really nasty one that may have some lingering effects over time.

did you forget that you started that rumor during the pursuit of PG? Only kidding, I have no idea....I thought I read he will be back by the beginning of the season....but that means little to nothing months out...players are almost always projected to be back at the beginning of the season several months out._________________"To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one's thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one's mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality." Ayn Rand

I also predict that 4-11 will be be separated by 3 games. Games will be close all year.

I can't see New Orleans being the #2 seed. Here is how I see it including the records.

I see Davis having a breakout year with Randle, Mirotic and Holiday. I think they're primed to get that #2. I think they'll go 55-27. I also see the Rockets with 52-30. The Warriors will go back to having a 60+ win season. The Warriors as presently constructed are just way better than everyone else. The West will be even tougher this year, but the Warriors still make the West look like the East.

I also predict that 4-11 will be be separated by 3 games. Games will be close all year.

I can't see New Orleans being the #2 seed. Here is how I see it including the records.

I see Davis having a breakout year with Randle, Mirotic and Holiday. I think they're primed to get that #2. I think they'll go 55-27. I also see the Rockets with 52-30. The Warriors will go back to having a 60+ win season. The Warriors as presently constructed are just way better than everyone else. The West will be even tougher this year, but the Warriors still make the West look like the East.

Davis is a bona fide stud but seems he's always banged up, even if he's played 75 games the past two years. Without him, that team isn't close to a playoff team._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

I also predict that 4-11 will be be separated by 3 games. Games will be close all year.

I can't see New Orleans being the #2 seed. Here is how I see it including the records.

I see Davis having a breakout year with Randle, Mirotic and Holiday. I think they're primed to get that #2. I think they'll go 55-27. I also see the Rockets with 52-30. The Warriors will go back to having a 60+ win season. The Warriors as presently constructed are just way better than everyone else. The West will be even tougher this year, but the Warriors still make the West look like the East.

Davis is a bona fide stud but seems he's always banged up, even if he's played 75 games the past two years. Without him, that team isn't close to a playoff team.

We'll see how important Rondo really was to them and Randle was to us (moreso Rondo to them because we replaced Randle with Lebron). Basically did a Rondo for Randle swap. I think if they had kept Rondo they're top 4 in the west to be honest, Anthony Davis is pretty much the closest thing to unstoppable in the league right now.

Rondo's emergence allowed Jrue to focus more on defense and not be worn down playing "PG."

Payton was just released by the Suns and traded by the Magic for pennies on the dollar. So who knows if he can approximate what Rondo brought for the Pels._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

I also predict that 4-11 will be be separated by 3 games. Games will be close all year.

I can't see New Orleans being the #2 seed. Here is how I see it including the records.

I see Davis having a breakout year with Randle, Mirotic and Holiday. I think they're primed to get that #2. I think they'll go 55-27. I also see the Rockets with 52-30. The Warriors will go back to having a 60+ win season. The Warriors as presently constructed are just way better than everyone else. The West will be even tougher this year, but the Warriors still make the West look like the East.

Davis is a bona fide stud but seems he's always banged up, even if he's played 75 games the past two years. Without him, that team isn't close to a playoff team.

Exactly! I don't believe in the team around Davis. That is why I can't see them ending up being a #2 seed.

I'm watching First Take right now and apparently it's a thing around the league that some are predicting that the Lakers won't even make the playoffs.

I reeeeally hope that that's the narrative going into the season. Please make it happen. Maybe Pete and Pincus can write a bunch of articles saying that the league thinks the Lakers won't make the playoffs and they'll be fighting for the 10th seed. I would absolutely love for this group to have that underdog mentality going into the season.

Not sure if this was posted....it is about a week old. CBS Sportsline ran 2018-19 projections, and had the Lakers as 3rd in the West with 50.9 Wins. Rockets were 2nd with only 51.8 wins. They have Denver, Minnesota and Memphis all missing the playoffs. Also, have Kawhi's Raptors getting the #1 seed in the East!

***One really weird projection was Atlanta @ #9 in the East _________________"To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one's thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one's mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality." Ayn Rand

Not sure if this was posted....it is about a week old. CBS Sportsline ran 2018-19 projections, and had the Lakers as 3rd in the West with 50.9 Wins. Rockets were 2nd with only 51.8 wins. They have Denver, Minnesota and Memphis all missing the playoffs. Also, have Kawhi's Raptors getting the #1 seed in the East!

another interesting observation of the simulation....adding Cousins only increased GSW win total by 0.3 games.....while replacing Rondo and Cousins with Payton and Randle increased the Pelicans total wins 0.7 wins._________________"To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one's thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one's mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality." Ayn Rand

Not sure if this was posted....it is about a week old. CBS Sportsline ran 2018-19 projections, and had the Lakers as 3rd in the West with 50.9 Wins. Rockets were 2nd with only 51.8 wins. They have Denver, Minnesota and Memphis all missing the playoffs. Also, have Kawhi's Raptors getting the #1 seed in the East!

When the Lakers first signed LeBron, I put together a preliminary RPM projection that pegged them for 50 wins. So why the drop to 41 in the full version? No team was hit harder by the adjustment for players changing teams than the Lakers, who project to have just 55 percent of their minutes played by returning players. (Only the Phoenix Suns are lower in this regard.) And no individual was hit harder than James, whose projected RPM dropped from plus-5.0 to plus-2.7. While LeBron's offensive RPM did in fact take a huge hit when he joined the Miami Heat in 2010-11 (from plus-8.7 to plus-4.8), he's still likely to beat that projection.

If James drops only to a plus-4.0, the Lakers would move into eighth, and even if this projection is accurate for all teams they would still probably be better than 50-50 bets to make the playoffs because somebody else falls out, so RPM isn't necessarily calling them a lottery team. Nonetheless, these projections do now suggest the Lakers are far from challenging the best teams in the West.

_________________"To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one's thinking; to maintain a contradiction is to abdicate one's mind and to evict oneself from the realm of reality." Ayn Rand

When the Lakers first signed LeBron, I put together a preliminary RPM projection that pegged them for 50 wins. So why the drop to 41 in the full version? No team was hit harder by the adjustment for players changing teams than the Lakers, who project to have just 55 percent of their minutes played by returning players. (Only the Phoenix Suns are lower in this regard.) And no individual was hit harder than James, whose projected RPM dropped from plus-5.0 to plus-2.7. While LeBron's offensive RPM did in fact take a huge hit when he joined the Miami Heat in 2010-11 (from plus-8.7 to plus-4.8), he's still likely to beat that projection.

If James drops only to a plus-4.0, the Lakers would move into eighth, and even if this projection is accurate for all teams they would still probably be better than 50-50 bets to make the playoffs because somebody else falls out, so RPM isn't necessarily calling them a lottery team. Nonetheless, these projections do now suggest the Lakers are far from challenging the best teams in the West.

It’s amazing that the Lakers added a guy who had a monster season last year and guys like Pelton and Chris Mannix have the guts to spite the Lakers, if LeBron went to Philly or Houston these same guys would be talking Dynasty.

When the Lakers first signed LeBron, I put together a preliminary RPM projection that pegged them for 50 wins. So why the drop to 41 in the full version? No team was hit harder by the adjustment for players changing teams than the Lakers, who project to have just 55 percent of their minutes played by returning players. (Only the Phoenix Suns are lower in this regard.) And no individual was hit harder than James, whose projected RPM dropped from plus-5.0 to plus-2.7. While LeBron's offensive RPM did in fact take a huge hit when he joined the Miami Heat in 2010-11 (from plus-8.7 to plus-4.8), he's still likely to beat that projection.

If James drops only to a plus-4.0, the Lakers would move into eighth, and even if this projection is accurate for all teams they would still probably be better than 50-50 bets to make the playoffs because somebody else falls out, so RPM isn't necessarily calling them a lottery team. Nonetheless, these projections do now suggest the Lakers are far from challenging the best teams in the West.

The Lakers were a .500 team after ASG even with a lot of injured players (Lonzo, Ingram, Hart,...). Then, we add LeBron. And we're still a .500 team.